Ethiopia: displacement, intimidation and abuse

With the coming of big industrial farms in Ethiopia, local people, villagers and pastoralists are being threatened, intimidated, forcibly displaced and herded into camps by the military, their homes destroyed. Along with vast agricultural complexes, dams are planned and constructed, water supplies redirected to irrigate crops, forests burnt, natural habitats destroyed. Dissenting voices are brutally silenced – men beaten, children frightened, women raped, as is the land.

Over 80 per cent of Ethiopia’s 85 million people live in rural areas and work in agriculture. Many are small-scale farmers who, according to government figures, farm “8 per cent (about 10,000,000 hectares) of the national land area”, and traditional pastoralists who have, for generations, lived simple lives.

Huge tracts of agricultural land with water supplies are being leased to foreign companies for food export. The Oakland Institute, a US-based policy think-tank and leader in the field, has produced in-depth reports on worldwide land sales stating that during 2008-11 “3,619,509 ha were transferred to domestic investors, state-owned enterprises and foreign companies”. Assuming government figures are correct, this amounts to a third of the land farmed by Ethiopians themselves, an area the size of a small country such as the Netherlands.

Government genocide 

Land grab (and associated water appropriation), Oxfam states, occurs when “governments, banks or private investors buy up huge plots of land to make equally huge profits”.

Since 2008 such speculation has vastly expanded. In 2009 alone the Oakland Institute recorded that “foreign investors acquired 60 million ha of land [worldwide] – the size of France – through purchases or leases of land for commercial farming”, up from an annual average of 4m ha prior to 2008. Three quarters of all land deals take place in sub-Saharan Africa, in some of the most food-insecure, economically vulnerable, politically repressive countries in the world – precisely, some say, because of such advantageous commercial factors.

In Ethiopia, land sales are occurring in six key areas: Oromia and Gambella in the south, and in Amhara, Beneshangul, Gumuz, the Sidaama zone and the Lower Omo Valley – an area of outstanding natural beauty with acclaimed world heritage status. According to Genocide Watch, the Ethiopian government’s conduct in Omo and Oromia has “already reached Stage 7 [of 8 in] genocidal massacres”. This is not only shocking, but also casts shame upon the Ethiopian government and the slumbering donor nations who are well aware of the cruel methods, which violate a plethora of human rights laws, employed by the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) – a regime whose loyalties, it seems, rest firmly with investors, corporations and multinationals and which cares little for the people living upon the land or, indeed, in the cities.

Forced from home

Conditional within land lease agreements is the requirement that the government will clear the area of “encumbrances”, meaning indigenous people – families, children, pastoralists, cattle, wildlife, forests, anything that will interfere with the leveling of the land, building of (foreign) workers’ accommodation, roads and the eventual sowing of crops.

The national three-year villagization programme, initiated in 1985, aims to move 1.5 million people from their ancestral homes, over four states, into large settlements. The process is well under way, according to the human rights organization Cultural Survival. It says: “by February 1987, 5.7 million people (15 per cent of the rural population) had been moved into 11,000 new villages. By the end of this year [2010], 10 million rural inhabitants (25 per cent of the population) are expected to be villagized in 12 of Ethiopia’s 13 provinces.”

Government propaganda justifying the policy states these new village centres will “facilitate the provision of human social services by concentrating scattered homesteaders into central communities”, and facilitate “agrarian socialism”. Hence the leasing of mega chunks of land to multinational corporations, without the participation of local people, whose land is being taken from them: a totalitarian version of socialism.

Contrary to federal and international law, which requires the free, informed and prior consent of the people, this mass movement is being carried out without consultation or compensation, no matter the official claims to the contrary.

The Significance of Adwa Victory for Pan-Africanism and the African Renaissance 50 years after the OAU

NES COMMENTARY On 117 Years Of Adwa Victory

Inspiration

“Those who have strength, support us with your strength Those who are weak, support us with your prayers” Aste Menelik

“ I am a woman. I do not like war. But I would rather dies than accepting your deal.” Etigue Taitu Bitul

“They lost their history, so they died.” An African Maxim

“A country without historical memory is like a person without a head” The message from our ancestors

“If we appreciate the achievements of our ancestors and develop the capacity and openess to learn from their mistakes, we will always stand tall with dignity” NES

Introduction

We  would like to thank you all those throughout the world who are making the effort to remember and celebrate the 117 years of the battle of Adwa, which is now increasingly becoming recognized as a definitive victory  over world empire and colonialism.

It is said everything is moved but memory; we heartily welcome that this important day is being remembered in Ethiopia, by the Ethiopian heritage society in America, UK, Netherlands, South Africa and elsewhere. All efforts to recognize and remember 117 years of Adwa Victory must be appreciated, and all who took the initiative in preparing and organizing education to  make sure the Adwa Victory every year without fail is celebrated must be welcome.

1. 1.    Background

All the varied groups from Oromia to Eritrea were mobilized and contributed richly to the success of the Adwa victory

 by all Ethiopians through the depth and breadth of the land. This was not a victory of the leaders, or one ethnic group. This was a national victory with a wider African and indeed world significance. It was and remains an exemplary episode in demonstrating what a united people can achieve.

Adwa was a major anti-colonialist battle fought by all Ethiopians, under the skilful leadership of Emperor Menelik and Empress Taitu. This victory resonated well beyond the Ethiopian and indeed the African border. It represented the clash between colonialism and liberation on a world-scale.

Every year during Yekatit, Adwa can provide the occasion to appreciate fully the international significance of the Ethiopian victory over the world colonial project in Africa. The failure to put this victory in the context of the wider challenge which confronted Africa before, during and after the nineteenth century needs to be put right.

It is a matter of historical record that the Adwa victory signaled the beginning of the end of the Scramble for Africa. This victory constitutes a crucial chapter in the record of African resistance and liberation. It armed generations of Africans with the confidence of victory to engage in resistance and liberation. It attracted attention as far as the Caribbean and the Americas, not to mention Europe and the rest of Africa.

TPLF and al-Qaeda: Two side of the same coin

Ethiopians will be making a mistake of historical proportion if we believe there is anything resembling a government in the ruling regime of Ethiopia. The fact the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) regime hides behind al-Qaida to preserve its self declared minority rule and corruption alone is enough prove. If anything, Woyane* is al-Qaeda in disguise. Ethiopians will be advised to do the exact opposite of what the impetuous regime does to save our people, country and religions.

by Teshome Debalke

Every tyrannical regime that walked the planet earth search for and find hiding places to preserve its draconian and

 corrupt rule. Making up enemies and beating war drams against manufactured enemies are popular hideouts. Using ethnicity and religion to divide and neutralize the power of the people has always been the easiest for all tyrants. ‘The glory days are coming’ is another popular slogan to keep the people on suspense and distracted while robbing them blind. Manufacturing propaganda to confuse the population is time tested weapon of confusion. Showing off brute force and terror network are reserved when their rules are threatened by popular demand to surrender power is common.

But, the paranoid Woyane goes where no tyranny has ever gone before; hiding behind al-Qaeda, the most intrusive non state international terrorist organization in modern history.

The disgraceful act of Woyane; associating our people of the Muslim faith with al-Qaeda is the new low. We shouldn’t take it lightly like we did when our people were attacked by Woyane for their ethnicity and political beliefs. For sure, it is another desperate attempt to prevent the unavoidable surrender of power to democratic rule. The frantic move is the regime’s way of preempting Ethiopians from coming together to end Woyane’s minority and corrupt rule.

What is even more troubling is the similarity of Woyane’s tactics with al-Qaeda. Like al-Qaeda, Woyane terrorizes the populations to instill fear by ransacking the homes of Ethiopians in public.  What makes Woyane even more potent is it also runs the public institutions exclusively to legitimize terror as a means to subdue the population.

The regime atrocity on Ethiopians of the Muslim faith is a continuation of the usual desperate move to remain in power. It worth to note, the regime doesn’t like to be referred as ethnic minority, tyranny or corrupt while it rules as an ethnic minority, by way of terror and extortion. It is like wanting to have its cake and eating it too.

Therefore, Ethiopians will be fools not to see Woyane for what it is; a desperate al-Qaeda like tyranny in search of hiding place to extend its rule one more year… days… hours… and by all means necessary.

But, blaming Woyane alone shouldn’t be a hide out for the rest of us either. We have to come together to bring down the institution of tyranny and achieve the desired freedom and democracy soon. Looking at our own fault line is more important than blaming the small-time ethnic regime known to the world over for its brutality, corruption and misinformation.

When we deal with tyranny separately we are not demanding the rights and freedom of our people but negotiating with the ruling tyrant.  Instead of pleading with the shameless regime to respect our right, we must collectively demand its surrenders for democratic rule, noting less noting more. Instead of bargaining with a corrupt regime, we must demand it surrender the public resources stolen. Instead of protesting against its atrocity and corruption to the world we must make it stand trial in the world stage.

Under no circumstances we should entertain to compromise democracy and the rights and the freedom of the people with anyone let alone the small-time Woyane tyranny.

Here is where we often go wrong when we confront tyranny as ethnic and religious group or one interest group or another than Ethiopians. It opens more opportunity for Woyane or others to play the same game of division and hide behind something. Many tried they can bargain their freedom with a small-time ethnic tyranny like Woyane or outsourced it to one political group or another. The result turns out to be a disaster that did more damage than otherwise.

Why are we protesting as ethnic, religion…groups than for universal suffrage of our people? Unless we surrender our freedom to Woyane or outsource our straggle to others or unless we believe we deserve freedom more than others there is no one iota reason we struggle separately to demand freedom and democracy.  Are we reducing our freedom to the liking of Woyane?

Many of us are mislead to believe our ethnic identity, religious belief, regional location is enough to get us our freedom and ended up falling victim for atrocious and corrupt regimes and groups.  It is partly because of our misunderstanding of how tyranny operates. I am afraid we haven’t learned enough to understand there is no freedom for one without the whole.

It is important to recognize tyranny is a moving target like a terrorist organization. It has no identity, ideology, beliefs, principle etc.  For example, one of tyranny’s effective methods of dividing the people is by bribing one group against the other. It isn’t for the benefit of the bribed against others but to create enough conflict thus division to neutralize the people’s power. Another method is giving symbolic gesture to co-apt one group against another to remain in power. It is not because it loves the co-opted over others but a tool minority regimes use to galvanize support to neutralize the majority. Therefore, bargaining with tyranny is a zero sum game. At the end of the game there is noting to gain but a self inflected wound and an empty pocket.

Our fault line is clearer than ever; we expected tyranny can have the good senses to do something right. That expectation threw us off from the important things of democracy that need our undivided attention. The same goes with our expectation of the oppositions. Simply going against tyranny is not enough to accept empty promises. We must demand surrender to democracy from oppositions as much as we do from the ruling regime to bring down tyranny on its knees once and for all.

It all boils down to what we, Ethiopians collectively want as people.  We must decide whether we say no to tyranny in all forms or willing to accommodate it as long us it benefit us or doesn’t affect us personally.

WE the PEOPLE must determine our future as one people and a nation.  If we value our freedom more than we despise the small time illegitimate ethnic tyranny, we must abide by the rule of democracy. Thus, the first thing to acknowledge is, it doesn’t matter how we shake it or bake it there is no good tyranny but ‘dead’ tyranny, period.  Therefore, rejecting tyranny in any form and shape is the first step towards freedom.  Second, the struggle is for democracy, not against tyranny or to bargain our freedom with an illegitimate regime as hyphenated Ethiopians. Therefore, there is no negotiation with tyranny; except the condition of surrender. Third, no matter what, we can’t abandon our people at the mercy of tyranny regardless of who they are. Therefore, we must struggle for rights of our people, not take advantage of the violation of tyranny on each other. Finally, no personal ego is big enough to compromise the interest of the people not to work in solidarity with any Ethiopian to put down tyranny and bring about freedom and democracy. Therefore, those that refuse to work towards democracy in freeing the people from tyranny are potential tyrants themselves and must be rejected.

The cost of barging with the devil

The last 21 years, the people of Ethiopia separately and collectively attempted everything in the book to get Woyane, the self declared ethnic minority regime surrender power to the people’s government. Woyane unequivocally rejected every chance it is offered on the bases of ‘it has the gun and it will rule and robe for eternity’.

The one and only time Ethiopians got the opportunity to collectively and formally reject the ethnic junta at the ballot box was in May of 2005 election. Again, they gave Woyane the opportunity to surrender peacefully but, the response was a massacre of fascist proportion.  Ever since, the minority regime intensified its brutality and corruption and preempt the people will as gathering danger to its rule.  The latest victims are Ethiopians of the Muslim faith. The excuse this time around is ‘al-Qaeda is coming to institute Islamic government’.

The lists of Ethiopian labeled ‘terrorist’ in Woyane’s book are mounting. It includes human right advocates, journalist, political parties, democratic movements, religious leaders and liberation front.  In short, the entire people of Ethiopia became terrorists to preserve the most atrocious and corrupt regime ever seen in modern history.

When Woyane fragmented Ethiopians by ethnicity, religion and region it was preciously to hit us one at time. Therefore, it is easy for Woyane to label one group or another as terrorist and get away with murder. As far as Woyane is concerned anybody that demands rights or surrender of power for the people’s government are terrorist. Thus, we shouldn’t be surprised when the latest victims are Ethiopians of the Muslim faith and more to come. After all, the illegitimate minority regime has no mandate to rule and did its homework how to sustain its brute and corrupt rule. The question is, are Ethiopians collectively ready to force the illegitimate regime surrender?

If there is one lesson Ethiopians should learn by now is the struggle to rid of tyranny is a collective struggle for democracy. There is no ethnic, religious and region divides when it comes to democracy and freedom. If anybody says otherwise they are lying through their teeth and must have motives other than freedom and democracy and should be responsible for aiding Woyane to remain in power.

As Woyane dodge the question of its illegitimacy and corrupt rule, the so called supporters are following the regime in the gutter as accessories in crimes of atrocity and corruption. Why they throw their life away in the service of ethnic tyranny against the people of Ethiopia may not be clear to an average Ethiopian yet. But, the fact they are willing to sustain an illegitimate and corrupt regime will continue to hunt them the rest of their lives.

What is important at this point of the struggle is, not to allow legitimacy for criminality; as the regime and its sorry stooges are hoping to do.  In that regard, we will be better off to sort out and document the crimes of the regime’s operatives and prepare for the eventual judgment day for crime against the people and the nation as any civilized society would.   What Ethiopians should never do is, reduce ourselves to Woyane level and render collective guilt and punishment as the sorry regime does. Guilt by association is a primitive tool tyrants use to survive. If we adapt it, we aren’t any better than Woyane.

The time has come to put down tyranny on its knees and build democracy once and forever. Whether the regime or anybody else likes it or not there is no way out of it.

* Woyane: The Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), known more commonly and sometimes as Woyane or Weyane (Ge’ez: ሕዝባዊ ወያኔ ሓርነት ትግራይ, Tigrinya: ḥizbāwī weyānē ḥārinet tigrāy^?, “Popular revolution (for) the freedom of Tigray”) is a political party in Tigray, Ethiopia. At the last legislative elections, the party was the main part of the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front, that claimed 499 out of 547 seats. Sourse wiki

የሕወሐት ፍጥጫ ቀጥሏል (ከኢየሩሳሌም አርአያ)

“አሁን ያለው ሕወሐት ቆዳ ነው” እነ ስብሃት

“የሕወሐት ወራሾች እኛ ነን” እነ አባይና አዜብ

(ከኢየሩሳሌም አርአያ)

ሁለት ቦታ የተከፈለው የሕወሐት አመራር ልዩነቱን በማስፋት እየተወዛገበ መሆኑን ከመቀሌ ታማኝ ምንጮች ገለፁ። ስብሃት እና አዜብ የሚመሩት ሁለቱ ቡድን አነጋጋሪ አቋም ይዞ መውጣቱን ምንጮቹ ጠቁመዋል። በስብሃት ነጋ የሚመራው ቡድን ባስቀመጠው አቋም « መለስ ሕወሐትን ገድሎ ነው የሔደው! አሁን ያለው ሕወሐት ቆዳ ነው። ጥያቄው ግልፅ ነው፤ ሕወሐት መቀጠል አለበት.. ወይስ የለበትም?» ሲሉ በድርጅቱ ቀጣይ ሕልውና ላይ ጥያቄ አሳርፈዋል። ከዚህ በተቃራኒ የቆመውና አባይ ወልዱ፣ አዜብና ከጀርባ በረከት ስምኦን ያሉበት ቡድን በበኩሉ « የሕወሐት ወራሾች እኛ ነን፤» ሲል ለነስብሃት ምላሽ መስጠቱ ታውቋል። በተጨማሪ በሁለቱም ቡድኖች በልዩነት ነጥብ ተደርጎ የተወሰደው በ1993ዓ.ም ከፓርቲው የተባረሩት አመራሮች « ይመለሱ» ፣ « አይመለሱም» የሚለው እንደሚገኝበት ተጠቁሟል። የሁለቱም ጐራ ፖለቲካዊ ግብ አንዱ ሌላኛውን ገፍትሮ ከሜዳው ማስወጣትና ፓርቲውን ብሎም አገሪቱን በፈላጭ ቆራጭነት ለመቆጣጠር ያለመ እንደሆነ አንድ የፓርቲው ቅርብ ሰው ጠቁመዋል።

በፓርቲው በተለኮሰው ስር የሰደደ ፖለቲካዊ ፍጥጫ ካድሬው ለሁለት ተከፍሎ ሲነታረክ መሰንበቱን ምንጮች ጠቁመዋል። በፓርቲው አባላት « አደገኛ» የተባለውን ይህን ፍጥጫ መሰረት በማድረግ በቴውድሮስ አድሃኖምና ብርሃነ ገ/ክርስቶስ የሚመራ ቡድን ራሱን « የአስታራቂ ሽማግሌዎች ቡድን» በሚል ሰይሞ ባለፉት ቀናት ሲነቀሳቀስ መቆየቱን ገልፀዋል። ሆኖም ሁለቱን ጎራዎች አቀራርቦ ለማነጋገርና ለማስማማት የተጀመረው ጥረት በሁለቱም በኩል በሚታየው አክራሪ አቋም ምክንያት ተስፋ ሰጪ ሁኔታ እንደማይታይ ምንጮቹ አስታውቀዋል። አሁንም ድርድሩ መቀጠሉን ምንጮቹ አልሸሸጉም።

የሕወሐት ሕልውና አጣብቂኝ ውስጥ በገባበት በአሁኑ ወቅት በሌላ ጐራ የተነሱ ወጣት የፓርቲው ካድሬዎች ባነሱት ጥያቄ ፥ ሁሉም አንጋፋ አመራሮች ከድርጅቱ እንዲለቁ ጥያቄ ማቅረባቸውንና ይህን ለማድረግ ፈቃደኛ ካልሆኑ ግን ሕወሐት ሊፈርስ እንደሚችል ማስጠንቀቂያ ጭምር መስጠታቸውን ምንጮቹ አያይዘው ገልፀዋል።

በተያያዘም « ጉባኤ ይጠራ» በሚል በካድሬዎች የቀረበውን ጥሪ እነ አባይ ወልዱና አዜብ ያሉበት ቡድን ውድቅ እንዳደረገው ታውቋል። አባይና አዜብ የሚመሩት እንዲሁም ትርፉ ኪዳነማሪያም፣ ሃድሽ ዘነበ፣ አለም ገ/ዋህድ፣ በየነ ምክሩ፣ ተክለወይኒ አሰፋና ሳሞራ የኑስ የተካተቱበት ቡድን በጉባኤው አሸናፊ ሆነው እንደማይወጡ ከወዲሁ በማመናቸውና በነስብሃት በኩል ከፍተኛ ሃይል እንደተደራጀባቸው ጠንቅቀው ስለተረዱ ነው ሲሉ የጠቆሙት ምንጮቹ አክለውም ሳሞራ በመከላከያ እጣ ፈንታቸው ተመሳሳይ መሆኑን በማመናቸው ከነአዜብ ጋር ተሰልፈው እንደሚገኙ ገልፀዋል።

የበላይነትን እየያዘ ነው የሚባለውና በስብሃት የተደራጀው እንዲሁም በደብረፂዮን የሚመራው ቡድን አብዛኛውን የማ/ኮሚቴ አመራር በዙሪያው ያሰባሰበ ሲሆን ከነዚህም፥ አዲስአለም ባሌማ፣ አርከበ እቁባይ፣ ቅዱሳን ነጋ፣ ፈትለወርቅ፣ ፀጋዬ በርሄ፣ አባዲ ዘሙ፣ ሃ/ኪሮስ ገሰሰ፣ ተ/ብርሃን…በዋንኛነት እንደሚገኙበት ምንጮቹ አመልክተዋል። የሽማግሌው ቡድን ስብስባ እንደቀጠለ ተጠቁሞዋል።

London Debretsion Church and the Ethiopians

Watch the YouTube video before reading this article.

This is Debretsion Ethiopian Orthodox Church in London England. The picture seems to have been taken on a cold winter day. It is such a beautiful church. Doesn’t it look so serene and peaceful? I am sure it is that most of the time. But according to this video it was nothing but serene a few weeks back. The best way to express the twenty one minute video is it felt like was watching a scene where the mental patients have taken over the asylum.

I agree it is totally depressing to see all classic Ethiopian behavior on display in a controlled environment. The location being a church gives it that special quality of raising the bar to show how low we have sunk. Such a brawl in some obscure hall, how ugly it is, normally is not worth a mention. I guess we get so consumed with the righteousness of our cause that we toss out all civilized behavior out of the window regardless of the place or the time.

The video is not intended to be a work of art. It is not fiction that jumped out of some ones

 imagination. This play does not have a director, a producer or a lead actor. This video is real unrehearsed presentation of Ethiopians and their social interaction. The setting adds to the drama of the moment. We thank the individual who had the patience to record reality in that hallow ground.

If you care to dig deep deeper into the story you will find out the reason to the madness you are subjected to watch but that is another story all by itself.  Unfortunately having an excuse does not justify bad and shameful behavior. Wrong or right does matter but with this short presentation that we are left with all we can do is watch and marvel at the utter stupidity our situation at home and abroad.  I am interested in parsing out what fate has presented us- a way to watch ourselves from afar. It is priceless.

As I said before the setting is Debretsion Church in London, England and all those present are immigrant Ethiopians. All come to Debretsion by their own free will. We assume they are followers of Christ AKA Christians. For Christians a church is a most hallowed place. It is God’s home. Christians go to church to pray, praise the lord and cleanse their soul of evil thought and bad feelings. We expect love, understanding, forgiveness and chartable acts to flourish in such a location. Is that too much to ask?

The law is our shield

By Abebe Gellaw
Around two weeks ago, a few members of ECAD Paltalk room members took the initiative of donating money for the

legal actions I am to take in earnest against criminal TPLF thugs that have been violating our civil rights guaranteed under U.S. laws and constitutions.

In Ethiopia, TPLF agents are above the law; they are untouchable no matter what they do. Those who have killed, maimed, tortured and jailed so many innocent citizens are walking free. Some of these dangerous agents and operatives of the criminal regime come to the United States and Europe seeking refuge and political asylum under false pretense that they were being persecuted by the TPLF. Then they turn against other Ethiopians. They spy, intimidate, threaten and attack anyone vocal against TPLF’s criminal regime. What I have been subjected to for exercising my civil rights is probably unprecedented in terms of intensity and degree but definitely not unique as so many others have silently endured these kinds of criminality.

We have two options even in the land of the free. We can either endure the criminality of the thugs and terrorists that are out to silence us or confront them in a language they understand better. The legal recourse is of course the most powerful and effective option. In countries where the rule of law is sacrosanct and fully guaranteed, the law is the best shield we have at our disposal against the terrorist and thugs that have already chased us away from our beloved country.

Where there is crime, there is punishment. Having good lawyers to deal with complex crimes committed in various jurisdictions is a must. While pressing criminal charges is necessary, civil litigations will also be part of the push for justice so that those responsible will feel the pains of their criminal behaviors and actions. To that end, we will hire at least two lawyers, one in Europe and another one in the United States, where most of the multiple crimes have been committed.

I am very grateful that some Ethiopians have willingly supported this cause. Since we have started soliciting contributions a week ago, a little over $5000 (as of February 24^th) has been collected. The amount is still far less than our target. But we do hope that we will raise sufficient funds in the coming few weeks.

Those who have donated confirmed, as much as I do, that we should not silently ignore criminal attacks, persecution and threats similar to what the people of Ethiopia have to endure routinely. We should do what we can afford collectively.

I would like to take this opportunity to wholeheartedly thank all who have already denoted for this campaign against our tormentors. Your support is very much appreciated.

I should also point out that anyone who has donated can demand financial report at any time to ensure that the money collected for this cause is spent appropriately. We will account for every dime spent.

There is no small fight for justice. Every violation of civil rights must be challenged. A criminal attack and persecution against one is an attack against all.

In case anyone would like to add small contributions, please use one of the following methods.

1. To donate online through Paypal use the following link: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=UHPF5RPB2PBSN
2. Deposit at any Wells Fargo branch AG Legal Fund, Acc. No. 3525090746.
3. Deposit through any Bank of America branch AG Legal Fund, Acc. No. 485010192701
4. Wire money from any other branches to AG Legal Fund, Acc. No. 3525090746, ABA 121000248.
5. To transfer money from banks outside of the US: AG Legal Fund Acc. No. 3525090746 SWIFT- WFBIUS6S.
6. It is also possible to use Western Union to transfer your donations using one of the bank details above.

For further information, please call (001) 5718829882 or email us at ethlegalfund@gmail.com

Note to potential donors: This appeal is only for those who believe in our cause for justice and freedom. We do not appreciate donations for the sake of donating. Only donate to causes you truly believe are worth supporting.

I thank so much again! Together we can make a difference.  Should you wish progress report, please check the file below.

Progress report

http://addisvoice.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/agfr.pdf

Barack Obama: Failing the African Spring?

by Helen Epstein
The New York Review of Books

February 25, 2013

America’s new drone base in the West African city of Niamey, Niger, announced by the White House on Friday, further

President Barack Obama preparing to address Ghana’s parliament, Accra, Ghana, July 11, 2009

expands our counter-terrorism activity in Africa. It’s also consistent with the militaristic emphasis of the Obama administration’s engagement with the continent. This may help contain the spread of jihadist violence in specific cases, but by failing to address persistent abuses of human rights by our African military allies, America is also undermining its own development investments that are intended to lift millions of people out of poverty and ensure the continent’s peace, stability, and economic growth.

The administration’s neglect of human rights in Africa is a great disappointment, since the president began his first term by laying out ambitious new goals for the continent. In July 2009, when his presidency was only six months old, Barack Obama delivered a powerful speech at Cape Coast Castle in Ghana, the point from which millions of African slaves were shipped across the Atlantic. He called on African countries to end the tyranny of corruption that affects so many of their populations, and to build strong institutions that serve the people and hold leaders accountable. The speech seemed to extend the message of his much-discussed Cairo address a month earlier, in which he called for a new beginning for Muslim relations with the West, based on non-violence and mutual respect. Many thought that the policies of the new president, himself of Kenyan descent, would depart from those of the Bush administration, which provided a great deal of development aid to Africa, but paid scant attention to human rights.

After more than four years in office, however, Obama has done little to advance the idealistic goals of his Ghana speech. The US finally suspended military aid to Rwanda last year, after it was forced to accept evidence of Rwandan support for the brutal Congolese rebel group M23, but has otherwise ignored the highly problematic human rights situation in that country. In Uganda, the US looked on for years as President Yoweri Museveni’s cabinet ministers gorged themselves on American and other foreign aid intended for impoverished farmers, war victims, roads, and health care. US diplomats have recently begun expressing support for Uganda’s many oppressed civil society groups, but one wonders what took them so long. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that Uganda is a vital US military ally in Somalia, where Ugandan troops helped oust the Islamic militant group al-Shabbab from Mogadishu last year.

Meanwhile, Kenya, another important US ally in Somalia that is soon to be receiving drones from the Pentagon, is preparing for national elections on March 4. But some observers say the country is more violent now than it was in 2007, when post-election ethnic clashes left 1000 people dead and caused economic chaos across East Africa. Presidential candidate Uhuru Kenyatta and his running mate William Ruto have both been indicted by the International Criminal Court for crimes connected with those events. It’s not clear what the US will do if Kenyatta wins, but it often seems as if Obama will work with any African leader who furthers America’s military aims, regardless of how that leader treats his own people.

Ethiopian Muslims protesting in Addis Ababa, October, 2012

And then there is Ethiopia. Today, Western nations give $3.5 billion a year in aid to Ethiopia, most of it for health care projects, food aid, and other development programs. Of this, the US alone provides roughly $700 million—an amount that has quintupled in the past decade, even as the nation’s human rights record has deteriorated to the point that Freedom House now designates it one of the least free countries in the world. The Ethiopian government has rigged elections, taken control of the economy, and outlawed virtually all independent media and human rights activity in the country—including work related to women and children’s rights, good governance, and conflict resolution. Thousands of political prisoners languish behind bars and dozens of editors, journalists, judges, lawyers, and academics have been forced into exile.

But when Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi died last summer, then-US Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice praised him as a personal friend and a “talented and vital leader.” When she remarked that “he had little patience for fools, or ‘idiots,’ as he liked to call them,” some in the opposition believed she was referring to them—and approving Meles’s sentiments. Rice’s support for authoritarian leaders in Africa was highlighted by critics who opposed—and ultimately derailed—her nomination to be secretary of state.

Perhaps most worrying of all is the unwillingness of Obama and other Western leaders to say or do anything to support the hundreds of thousands of Muslim Ethiopians who have been demonstrating peacefully against government interference in their religious affairs for more than a year. (The Ethiopian government claims the country has a Christian majority, but Muslims may account for up to one half of the population.) You’d think a nonviolent Islamic movement would be just the kind of thing the Obama administration would want to showcase to the world. It has no hint of terrorist influence, and its leaders are calling for a secular government under the slogan “We have a cause worth dying for, but not worth killing for.” Indeed, the Ethiopian protesters may be leading Africa’s most promising and important nonviolent human rights campaign since the anti-apartheid struggle.